Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-03-15
KENTUCKY'S " NEUTRALITY"
MIR. Crtttenden's Opinion of That Barren
IdeRlItY,

MIR. Cr1ttenden's Opinion of That Barren
Ideality.
The people of our cities, says the Gin
cinnati Commercial Gazette, will remem-
Der well the hag-raising st Colonel Tay-
lor's in Newport, in June, 1861, when
many leading men made speeches, and
among the rest Kentucky's great Senator,
John J. Crittenden, whose speech was
unsatisfactory to the Union people. Col
onel E. W. Hawkins of Newport wrote a
letter to Mr.. Crittenden III order that he
might get him to modify or explain his
views more to the satisfaction of the
Union people, and received from him the
following letter, which he has retained to
this day, and which will be read with in
terest by many:
"FRANKFORT, KY, July /, l861.-My
Dear Sill; Your letter of the 23d ult. was
duly received. l appreciate your motive
for writing, and thank you tor it. My
speech at Colonel Taylor's fag-raising, a
| festive occasion, where l was suddenly
and Unexpectedly called on, ought not, |
think, to have been made subject for
grave criticism or comment. 1t did not
deserve such consideration. 1t is bad
enough to have to make such speeches,
bat it is 8 great deal worse to have to in
terpret them, and to be accountable for
every casual word spoken on triv-
ial occasions. 1t ought not to have been
expected in such speech as was called
upon to make st Colonel TaYlor's that l
intended any grave political discussion,
or to lay down any studied political
creed. l looked upon 1t as thing not
worthy of any remembrance; attached no
importance to it myself, and did not ex-
pect that ANYBODY would. do not recol-
lect what did say, and l can not, there
fore, undertake to explain 1t. You tell
me, that I WAS understood by some to say
'if the general government ordered
troops upon Kentucky soil, that it would
be the duty of Kentuckians to resist
those troops and drive them off," Ger
tainly | do not entertain or advocate
any such general proposition or
doctrine. On the contrary, 1 be-
lieve that the constitution does
give to the government the power to or
der it's troops into any state Of the Union
when, in its judgment, the public service
requires it. But, furthermore do think,
if the government should order troops
into Kentucky Tor the purpose OF making
war upon her, because OF the poSltlOn she
has assumed in the present most extra
ordinary condition of the country, that
such an act would be SO wrongful and
unjust on the part of the general govern
ment, that Kentuckians would De justified
in resisting her troops and driving them
of, if they could. 1t must be remembered
that part of Kentucky's position, as avow-
ed by her, is loyalty to the Union and
necessarily self-p protection at home. And,
with all this, think there are few who
will say that Kentucky has given cause
for war against her by the general gov
eminent, or that she might not resist by
force such war if made upon her without
lust cause. l am strong Union man,
and regret that any exception should ever
exist to the general rule of explicit ODE
0ience to the constitution in its very let
ter. But if ever sucn an exception can
be allowed, it seems to me to apply now
to the case of kentucky.
81 hoped to have answered you much |
more briefly, and though l may not have
succeeded in answering you fully or sat-t
isiactorily, must now conclude. I have